I tried them last year in Muncie IDRS -- great horns. Reminded me much of a Laubin in the ways that he was so particular about the key work and tuning.

As far as the bocals...great bocals. Tell him what kind of sound you want and what kind of character, and what your tendencies are in your reeds and he will pick a bocal out for you from his bag of tricks-- amazing!

Don't quote me but I'm pretty sure that Matt Dine plays a Hiniker but that he had terrible problems with cracking. He loved the oboe but had big problems with cracking. He is now playing a Laubin. I think Tom is making him a plastic top joint so that he can play the Hiniker again. My Hiniker is due to be finished next summer. I'll be glad to let you know what I think then, but I think anyone is going to be hard pressed to make a better oboe than the cocobolo Laubin that I just received. It is, quite simply, the most incredible instrument I've ever played.

I suspect that the cracking is just luck of the draw...it happens to almost every makers instruments now and then..I am sure that whoever has the cracked Hiniker took every care but still the top joint went and cracked...it's a nuisance but it happens...an expensive nuisance

I too have heard wonderful things about Tom Hinikers Oboes and Cor Anglais...his bocals are legendary it seems by all reports...The only real problem I detect with using these individual makers is the huge waiting list...several years for a Laubin and about the same for Hiniker who I believe closed his list for the time being...I appreciate that they are considered excellent makers which is wonderful but I do wonder at the time waiting for them to start making or to even get on the waiting list...then only to find that the instrument is not quite what one had hoped for and or worse the thing cracks whilst being blown in...personally I would be very dissapointed if the latter happened...

How do they compare pricewise with say a Loree Royal, are they more expensive or on a par with most of the major makers?

Here at the conference in IDRS -- tom is not here this week unfortunately. However, if you are up to trying new and upcoming brands, you NEED to check out the Fossati instruments. They were amazing last year and are even better this year. WOW -- cannot wait until I can afford to buy a new oboe -- I will be buying a Fossati!

I'm on the waiting list for a Hiniker oboe. I honestly don't know whether to ask for cocobolo wood or not. I may call Tom and see what he suggests. I read somewhere on facebook that someone owns a Hiniker with a plexiglass top joint and a grenadilla lower joint. Apparently she (or he, I can't remember) loves it. I've been on the list for a couple of years now so I better call him to see how far down the list I am before he starts making it! I also heard that he will line the upper joint with a sleeve to prevent cracking. Do people really feel that cocobolo wood is better than grenadilla? I'd really like to try a cocobolo Howarth XL and a cocobolo Laubin just to see if I can really tell a difference. Does the sound project as well as grenadilla?

I think your main question boils down to not whether you want a Hiniker Cocobolo or Laubin Cocobolo or XL cocobolo, but just whether you want a cocobolo or not!

The only way to really to get your hands on some. I certainly wouldn't go ordering a Hiniker Cocobolo without getting a really good sense of Cocobolo and it's tendancies as it is. There's a good amount of XL Cocobolos out there, but very very few Laubin Cocobolo instruments as Al Laubin didn't make many, and I've heard Paul Laubin doesn't make them anymore.

The Hiniker is quite a covered instrument and has some dampening tendancies much like a Laubin. Personally, I would think that a Cocobolo Hiniker would be overkill. My friend Peter Hurd had a snakewood oboe made, the hardest kind of wood in the world (that sinks in water) and he says that it is the best Hiniker of all of Hinikers he has tried, because the hard wood gives it MORE projection and clarity, and counterbalances the dampening effect.

Last I spoke with Tom, he said he'd probably put sleeves in all of his Cocobolo instruments. Meanwhile, my friend Adam Shapiro's Cocobolo XL topjoint warped after 3 years (a year past the warranty) so badly that it played really shallow and flat. He sent the topjoint back to Howarth, who recycled the keys, and made a new topjoint with a liner in it and now he loves it as a solo instrument, but it's limited in projection and said he couldn't play it beyond a small chamber group.

Peter sent me some photos of the snakewood Hiniker. It's beautiful--I only wish the pictures he sent were bigger! Maybe we can get him to get him to post some larger photos on a photo-sharing site like flickr?

I'd like to see pics of Peter's snakewood Hiniker oboe. I bet it's beautiful. How on earth do you keep a wood like snakewood from cracking? Is it South American snakewood? This is what I was assuming, but I know there is Australian snakewood also.

In my experience, it is essential that ANY wooden oboe be warmed up EVERY time before playing- upper joint placed vertical (say) FAR up under the left arm, under shirt, under sweater, under jacket (the more layers the merrier), and the lower joint and bell FAR up under (say) the right arm in similar fashion, for a full five minutes EVERY time before playing, no matter what the season may be, no matter what the inside or outside temperature may be. In winter, I have seen even seasoned professionals take a wood oboe out of the case, put it together, plug a reed in, and simply begin playing. This is an invitation for disaster.
A few years ago, I sold a beautiful 30 year old Marigaux oboe to a talented high young lady high school student. I explained to the student in great detail how to warm up the oboe, that this warming ritual must be accomplished every time before playing, and that this was a habit not to be missed even one time.
About four weeks later, wintertime, riding on a city bus, late for her youth symphony rehearsal, she dashed into the hall, slid into her seat, put the oboe together, stuck a reed in, and began playing. Within minutes, the entire backside of the upper joint opened up from top to bottom. My repairman remarked, "if the crack had been half a millimeter wider, I likely would not even have attempted a repair..."
A quick note on the Buffet Greenline oboes. Yes, they can and
do crack. Advertised, I believe, as being "crack resistant"...

Depends on the wood, plastic sleeve, keys, etc. but somewhere between $7000-$8000. I was on a "two year waiting list" four years ago. I still haven't received that instrument, nor have I heard anything from Tom about it, so I wouldn't hold your breath. Maybe before the second coming?

Say the standard grednanilla, not the fancy snake wood, silver/Ni keys and plastic resin for the top joint like the Laubin. How long and how much it will cost ?

Do you have to specify exactly the BOM (bill of materials) for him to custom make your oboe ?

Will price increase dramatically, if u use Au and snakewood ? Also, depending on what kind of sound the snakewood produces, it may be an over kill for most practical usage. What if after he has built it and absolutely hate the sound, then what happens ? Seems, like from previous posts, you have to pay for it first when it is just about ready.

Tom has an astonishing inventory of wood and materials to make oboes from, and eventually oboes d'amore, bass oboes, and perhaps English horns:
Rosewoods: Cocobolo from 1930s, Honduran, Kingwood ("Violetwood"),
Brazilian, Madagascar ("Palissander"); Grenadilla (much from the 1960s),
Pink Ivory, and cast Acrylic. Tom had only enough museum quality Snakewood to make 4 instruments- all this has been spoken for as far as I know. Tom will make one oboe d'amore of Snakewood, also spoken for. The Snakewood has a timbre I have never heard from any other oboe of any other material. Snakewood is harder, denser than Grenadilla.
Though the wait list is ever and rapidly expanding, due to the state of the economy, some have asked to delay delivery, or simply asked to be taken off the list. Tom does not ask for a deposit for oboists joining the wait list.
It is advisable if possible to have in mind what material you wish to have when you place your name on the wait list. I seem to recall placing the order for the Snakewood oboe about 4 years ago or so. Fortunately, the wood was already aged for 15-20 years. Tom accomplished the turning and machining the Snakewood in very small increments, sealing the wood and setting it aside for months before the next operation. The care and attention to detail Tom puts into his instruments is beyond astonishing, beyond amazing.
My friend Anne Krabill, former principal oboe, Halifax, now principal of the Northwest Symphony, still has the two very fine Al Laubin oboes (Blackwood, Rosewood) she played for years until she purchased a Hiniker oboe.
Now Anne's saying is "Why would anyone with half a brain play on anything other than a Hiniker."
The wait is well worth it. You will not be disappointed. A new Hiniker oboe is as Cooper says is now between $7000 and $8000, possibly a little more depending on keywork and plating. However, in my estimation, the Hiniker oboe is in a class by itself, priceless. I have had about 4 second hand Hiniker oboes for sale over the past few years- all sold for nearly the same price as new.

Now, I think I also need to do a comparison, Laubin vs Hiniker. Might as well put my name on the list since it is also a shorter wait compared to a Laubin.

Now, some have said Laubin is for small hands, although I have not heard anyone with big hands refuting this claim. How about the Hiniker ? From Cooper's picture, I assume he is playing his Hiniker, has normal hands.

What can one compare, with the Hiniker and Laubin ? Perhaps, Cooper and Peter H since they have owned both to give an objective opinion of the 2.

I am currently the owner of two Hiniker oboes. #33, in grenadilla, is now approx. three years old. This was the first oboe made by Tom with a PET plastic sleeve in the top joint. It has 24 karat gold plated keys, and includes a "long" left C-sharp in addition to all the standard French conservatory key work (including F and B-flat resonance, 3rd octave, "Philly D," etc.). After having played Loree "ak" oboes exclusively for more than 25 years prior to receiving this horn from Tom, I will never go back. I will forgo going into detail as to why this is the case, as I would undoubtedly resort to flowery subjective terms that would still come short of expressing my love for this instrument. It has been the best oboe I have ever played... until today.

Today... I am happily in receipt of Hiniker oboe #44, in cocobolo. The first of its kind. This oboe has the PET liner (as is now standard on all of Tom's wood oboes), and also has ABS liners on all tone holes down to the F resonance vent, and on the B-flat resonance vent in the bell. All key work is identical to #33, with the addition of a screw for adjusting the height of the pad over the C vent (top joint). This oboe is truly a work of art, as Tom's extreme attention to detail has been focused on one of the most beautiful pieces of wood I have ever seen. The sound is absolutely amazing. Dark, rich, supple, complex, flexible. These terms may mean different things to different people, but to me they mean that I finally sound exactly the way I have always wanted to sound, as a "main stream" American oboist, with much less effort. The response is immediate and full throughout the range, and the scale is as even as I have ever encountered. There is a comfortable resistance which allows for extreme dynamics on both the soft and the loud end, without compromising tone or pitch.

Suffice it to say that Tom has now convinced me -- twice -- that his oboes are by far the most beautifully made, and most beautiful playing instruments available today. My recommendation to any serious American oboist would be to add yourself to his wait list before he decides it is too long.

Thank you so much for the kind words, Glenn! To clarify, though, the only sound clip on my site that features a Hiniker oboe (#33) is the Barber Violin Concerto excerpt. It was the first time I played this oboe in public, about two weeks after receiving it. What a joyous experience! The other three clips were recorded before I received the Hiniker, and were played on my old Loree "ak" (KW57). I shall endeavor to put more "Hiniker clips" on the site soon!

Meanwhile, I have taken a photo of the new cocobolo Hiniker (#44), and have placed it on my website. Here is a direct link to the image:

Thanks for visiting the site, Craig, and for your compliment. I just checked on the Barber, and it seems to be working just fine. Please PM me if you continue to have a problem, as I'd be glad to post it to you directly.

Hi Jonathon,
I spoke to Tom at length about your new oboe just before he sent it off to you.
I have asked Tom to build a Cocobolo oboe for me as well.

Tom is presently building an all clear Acrylic oboe for me that is his interpretation
(with help from John Ferillo) of a Loree B series oboe. I should have this with me at the IDRS Convention in Tempe.

I have posted photographs of my (2010) Hiniker Snakewood oboe.
BY FAR THE finest oboe I have ever played- no contest.
Sadly, Tom has only enough museum quality Snakewood left to build 3 more instruments- all have be spoken for. Tom will be making a Snakewood oboe and a Cocobolo oboe for his own use.

It looks like the problem with the Barber excerpt may be specific to Apple's Safari web browser. I'm not a computer genius, so I'm not sure why this is happening. Please try visiting the site using another browser (such as Firefox), and do let me know if you still have problems. Thanks for listening!

Regarding wood choice, I am indeed finding quite a difference between my two Hiniker oboes (one grenadilla and one cocobolo). I have had the opportunity to play three other Hiniker oboes, all grenadilla instruments, and they were all remarkably similar. By this I mean there seems to be less variation from one Hiniker to the next, compared to other makes I have played extensively (probably due to Tom's absolute meticulous attention to detail and precise measurement, and maybe also due to the fact that he is using "super aged" wood, which is very stable). Having said this, the cocobolo instrument certainly is exhibiting a unique "personality," compared to its grenadilla cousins. I am having a great time exploring this difference, and (even though I still love my grenadilla horn) I am quickly becoming a huge cocobolo fan!

I am using the standard Explorer and still unable to hear the Barber. Since, it was played on your Cocobolo, I would like to hear this rendition. Perhaps, you wont mind sending the file to : 523345495@qq.com which accepts files up to 50MB.

Thx for the help and for your inputs about the grenadilla and cocobolo wood difference on your Hiniker

Btw, do you have any experience or inputs on a Laubin cocobolo vs the Hinicker cocobolo, or even a comparison on the 2 on grenadilla would be also interesting?

I have a grenadilla Laubin from 1973, and a Rosewood purchased in early 1980. Both are beautiful instruments. And of course my wonderful English horn from 1974. A gem. But I mostly use a Hiniker bocal on it!

Hiniker - # 18 and # 34. Peter Hurd brought me #18 to try a few years ago and I wouldn't give it back. Bought it on the spot. A couple of months ago he handed me #34 - same thing - mine in a few minutes.

They are beautiful instruments - nice even intonation and a beautiful clear sound. I recently sent one of them off to the principal oboist of a professional orchestra in the midwest so she could experience a good Hiniker and decide if she wanted to put her name on the list. She liked it a lot, and may buy it if I decide to sell it. In the meantime she is now on that long list.

About the oboe d'amore - so far the only Hiniker-ish one in existence as far as I know. An old instrument completely redone by Tom Hiniker. I played the Bach A major concerto on it just last month. I have a Hiniker bocal for it, but lately I prefer a Loree #1 - go figure.

I have tried at least 6 Hiniker oboes. One of them is the one Matt Dine used to own which now has a clear acrylic top joint. I passed on that one so a friend could buy it. She and I play together regularly and it is really nice to have a Hiniker oboe section!
Peter's snakewood oboe is beautiful.
Not long after I bought #18 I tried #17. They were so similar I had to look to see which one I was playing. And the one which originally belonged to Peter, then Cooper, I had for a couple of weeks last year to try.